Chapter Text
Balmorra, Part One
Hyperia stepped off her ship onto the worn deck plates of the Balmorran landing pad. Her ship. It seemed a bit surreal, if she thought upon it too long. It seemed that she would be always be on Korriban. But now, here she was, on her first assignment from her master, Darth Baras, having flown here in the ship he had given to her. She would have to think of a name for it at some point.
Soft footfalls sounded behind her as the Twi’lek, Vette, descended the ramp. “Not the worst place I’ve been. At least it doesn’t smell bad. And anything’s better than hanging out in Sith Land. Place gives me the creeps.” Vette shuddered visibly as the image of Darth Baras ruthlessly torturing the Republic agent flashed through her head.
Hyperia eyed the blue-skinned girl with faint wry amusement, “Get used to it. We will be visiting there often.” Even though the Twi’lek girl’s unwaveringly cheery disposition could be annoying at times, Hyperia did have to admit that it was nice to have someone at her back who she did not have to worry was going to shove a lightsaber into it.
Vette shrugged as they made off through the spaceport, “Well, at least we’re not there now. So who’s this contact we’re supposed to meet? Some Imperial lieutenant, right?”
“Yes, Lieutenant Quinn. Another of Baras’ people”, her nose wrinkled in faint disgust as she recalled the sniveling wretch that had greeted them upon their arrival on Dromund Kaas. She could only hope that the Imperial officer would not be cut from the same cloth as that creature.
Vette chuckled at the expression on Hyperia’s face, “Afraid he’s going to be some scrawny old bootlicking idiot like the last guy? You never know…he might be young and attractive! And, I don’t have much reason to like Imperials, but you have to admit that their uniforms are pretty spiffy!”
Hyperia couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Vette as they exited the spaceport into the Balmorran afternoon, “I wouldn’t hold my breath. And what if he is? Are you planning on seducing him?”
“No! I was thinking about you! You need to have some fun, loosen up a bit! Isn't the Sith Code all about passion?”
Hyperia stopped dead in her tracks and fixed a withering gaze upon the Twi’lek, “You forget your place! Do you honestly think it would be at all appropriate for me to entertain thoughts of that nature towards one of Baras’ people?! Or, for that matter, smart? Think Vette! Darth Baras is a spymaster…”
Vette’s blue skin turned a few shades paler as the smile instantly evaporated from her angular face, “Oh stang! I’m so sorry! I was just…I don’t know what I was thinking!”
“You weren’t thinking. Now hush, we’re almost there.” She had removed the slave collar that the Korriban overseer had placed around the girl’s neck, but that did not make the Twi’lek her equal by any means. Occasionally, she had to be reminded of that.
“Sorry.” Even as the words left Vette's lips, she still couldn’t stop herself from mumbling, “I take over all the chores on the ship for a week if he's a sniveling old worm….I get a week’s vacation on Nar Shaddaa if he's attractive.”
The urge to force choke the girl warred with Hyperia’s sense of intrigue. Intrigue won. “Fine, accepted.”
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Lieutenant Malavai Quinn was not having a good day. Darth Baras had contacted him that morning to inform him that his apprentice would be arriving later that day, then gave him a list of everything she would need. It was an extensive list of both equipment and information. He had mobilized his rather limited staff into assisting, but was now beginning to regret his decision. Even now, Corporal Jellins was reporting his pitiful failure to retrieve an exact account of the forces guarding the satellite control tower. A lot of droids, maybe a hundred or more! was not going to be the sort of accurate intel he had hoped to give the Sith when she arrived. He could only hope that Baras still found him valuable enough to not to kill him out-of-hand for the inaccuracy.
“Sir- I apologize, Sir. It was the best I could do.” Jellins’ sniveling interrupted his morose train of thought. Quinn had managed to keep his composure intact most of the day, but even now as he heard the door to his office slide open and felt the familiar whisper of the Dark Side draw near, the stress of the day’s events broke through and he lunged towards the terrified soldier.
“If that’s your best, you’re useless to me. I can shoot you dead with a clear conscience. Is that what you want?!”
Jellins’ green eyes went wide. He had never seen the Lieutenant this angry before. Quinn had always maintained a cool, professional manner, no matter the circumstances. To see him this way was alarming. “N-No Sir!”
Out of the corner of Quinn’s eye, he caught the movement of two people approaching. Baras’ apprentice...and a twi'lek slave, it seemed. He quickly reined in his temper, though the smoldering anger still infused his gaze as he fixed it upon Jellins’ terrified features. “Then focus, Jellins. Dismissed.”
The frightened private practically ran out of the room, giving the two newcomers a wide berth, as he escaped his potential death at the hands of the angry officer, not wanting to revisit it at the hands of a Sith.
Quickly pulling himself together, Quinn sketched a quick, but respectful bow to the women. “I apologize for the delay, my Lord. Lieutenant Malavai Quinn. I am to be your liaison here on Balmorra.”
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Hyperia strode into the office that had been pointed out to her as belonging to Baras’ contact. The voices of two men carried across the main room as she entered. One obviously berating the other. From the distance, she could see that both were fairly young, though the dark-haired one seemed a bit older and in a position of command. She felt Vette lean in and whisper, “So who wins the bet if he’s young, but sniveling?”, the Twi’lek’s gaze lingering on the younger blonde man being reprimanded.
“Hush Vette.” She slowed her pace only slightly to observe how the interaction unfolded and could barely hide a scowl as they drew close enough to hear the dark-haired man call the other “Jellins”. So this was Quinn. As much as she would hate to admit it, Vette had won the bet. Even now, she caught a look of victory on the girl’s angular features the second the name was mentioned.
Hyperia had to admit the man was attractive: tall, dark haired, pale skin, and the most piercing blue eyes. But what intrigued her the most was his demeanor. When they walked in, even she could feel the roiling torrent of anger…and even a flash of fear…from the man. But now as the man Jellins fled, it was as if a durasteel wall had slammed down and only the faintest flicker of emotion could be felt from behind it. It called to mind an old adage she had heard once, “Still waters can run quite deeply”. She had told herself…and Vette….that this was a mission, and that this man would be a contact, nothing more. But, she could not help but want to see if she could crack that shell and get a glimpse of the passion she had seen for that brief moment.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the expectant and curious look in his eyes, and she realized that he had introduced himself while she had been wool-gathering. Silently berating herself for losing herself so easily in thought, she replied, “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lieutenant.”
He seemed mildly surprised at her polite greeting, but again, she felt the emotion quickly stifled, as he continued, “Lord Baras will brief you personally, but I am to acquaint you with the climate on Balmorra first.”
“By all means, go ahead”, she replied with a brief gesture of acquiescence. As he began speaking, she found herself distracted again. Not only by the man himself, but by the utter smugness roiling off of Vette who was standing silently behind her. The Twi’lek was never going to let her live this down. At times like this, Hyperia sometimes thought that maybe she should have left the girl's shock collar on.
Having finished the briefing concerning the rebellion on Balmorra and the Republic’s almost-certain involvement (in which Hyperia caught yet another brief glimpse of emotion from the otherwise-professional officer as he spoke of vanquishing the Empire’s ever-present enemy), Quinn opened the holochannel to Baras.
Her master appeared before them and immediately dismissed Quinn from the room. Hyperia 's gaze lingered on the Lieutenant’s departing figure for a moment before she realized that Baras was probably watching…and noticing. She felt a slight twinge of paranoia as her master’s basso voice rumbled through the connection
“Quinn owes his career to me, but we should keep the details of your mission between the two of us.” Hyperia could not help but be even more intrigued by this. Why would someone like Baras take such an interest in a mere Imperial lieutenant? This man who she had taken for a “simple contact” was turning out to be one layer of mystery upon another.
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As Quinn strode from the main room and into his quarters after being dismissed for the moment, he found himself replaying the past few minutes of his meeting with Baras’ apprentice over in his mind.
He had certainly been taken aback by the woman at her first appearance. She was not at all what he had expected. Most Sith he had encountered tended towards looking as imposing and frightening as possible, but she seemed quite the opposite. She was a young woman of slightly-below-average height, brownish-red hair cut in a simple bob, and bronze skin. Even her attire was a simple black split robe and pants with subtle gold accents and charcoal armor, bearing none of the oversized accessories or mechanical accouterments that other Sith seemed to favor. If it had not been for the golden tint of her eyes, the livid scars encircling her throat, and the cybernetics caressing the curve of her jaw, as well as the obvious Dark Side power exuding from her, he would have mistaken her as a simple government functionary….a diplomat or ambassador, perhaps. And her mannerisms added even more to that impression. She was polite and well-spoken, with an odd accent that wasn’t entirely Imperial. It sounded more as an affectation layered over another, similar, accent. He couldn’t quite puzzle it out and he couldn’t help but want to know more about her.
Focus, Malavai. The last thing you need right now is to get too interested in Baras’ apprentice. That would be a recipe for total disaster, he thought to himself.
Almost as if on cue, his personal holo flickered to life with the image of Baras. “You may return, Lieutenant. Make certain that you provide whatever my apprentice needs to complete her mission. It is of the utmost importance. She will be starting with the assault on the satellite control tower.”
Quinn repressed a twinge of guilt at that, recalling Jellins’ incompetence, but bowed respectfully, “I will make certain she does not fail, my Lord.”
“See that you do”, the Sith Lord’s voice held a weight of malice as the holo flickered off and Quinn felt his stomach churn. Even without being provided an exact number, he knew the satellite control tower’s defenses were incredibly formidable. He had passed that information onto Baras, and could only hope that his apprentice was up for the task at hand….for his sake as well as hers.
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Hyperia quietly pondered the specifics of the mission as Baras ended the transmission. Odd to go through such trouble to destroy an entire compound just to erase some sensitive information. It seemed a job better suited to a slicer’s talents. But she understood his reasoning to an extent: destroy everything so that no one knows what was specifically targeted, and motive for the destruction cannot be ascertained. Of course it did not help that the description of “a death trap of mechanical security” had been used…and apparently by Quinn. He did not seem the sort to over-exaggerate, so this did not inspire confidence in her. But, if Baras thought she could handle it, she would do her utmost not to disappoint him.
As if summoned by her thoughts, Quinn re-entered the room, carrying a small metal disk. Affording her yet another brief bow, he immediately began speaking, “My lord, I’ve prepared what you will need for your assault on the satellite control tower.” He handed her the disk as he continued, “In order to destroy the mainframe, you will mount this charge at the base and activate it. Then contact me and I’ll be able to detonate.”
Hyperia turned the small disk over in her hands and couldn’t help but toss him a crooked smile, “Preferably after I am at a safe distance away from the tower, of course.”
A flush of red tinged his pale skin as he stammered, “Yes, of course my Lord! That goes without saying. One hundred meters should suffice. I apologize for not specifying.”
“Do not worry yourself, Lieutenant. I know that you weren’t trying to get me killed”, she chuckled as she turned to leave.
“Of course not, my Lord. Best of luck to you out there.”
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Quinn sank into the chair in his quarters after the Sith and her servant departed, sinking his head into his hands with a weary sigh. By the Emperor, please let this day not get any worse. Aside from the fact that Baras’ apprentice wasn’t a psychopathic maniac, it seemed as though he was trapped in the middle of an avalanche and couldn’t find a way to solid ground. Maybe the fact that she was so out-of-the-ordinary for a Sith was one of the main reasons he felt so completely off-balance. It wasn’t just the fear of death at Baras’ hands that made him worry for her success at this nearly-impossible mission. He actually feared for her, and he was not sure how to reconcile that with his need to maintain a purely professional distance. It didn’t help that his distraction had caused him to completely forget to give her the safe minimum distance from the blast. It would be bad enough for her to die during the mission, but utterly unthinkable for her to die because of a careless omission.
The day was barely half over and already looking to be a disaster. Part of him hoped that Baras’ mission would be completed quickly so that he could get back to his usual routine, but another part realized that once it was over….one way or the other…he would never see her again. Why does that bother me so? I’ve only just met her. She could be a complete sadist underneath the good manners and pretty face. It would not be unlike Baras to pick someone like that as one of his apprentices. He always had the talent for deception. Someone like that would be perfect: seemingly innocuous on the outside to lure in the unwary, then strike with cold, cruel precision. I will have to be on my guard.
And so, alone with his thoughts, he waited for her signal….or one from Baras about her death (and no doubt, his). Either way, it was going to be a long day….